PLYMOUTH AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: Employee Assistance Program for $9.50

Thursday

Mar 16, 2017 at 11:00 AM

Sometimes life gets a little too big to handle.

Emily Clark eclark@wickedlocal.com @emilyOCM

PLYMOUTH – Sometimes life gets a little too big to handle.

Add the daily work schedule to the mix, and the words “completely overwhelmed” spring to mind.

Today, the opioid epidemic has led to an epidemic of absenteeism, while other health and personal issues only add to those numbers.

Employee Assistance Programs are the antidote for many businesses. Employees can confidentially access free counseling from professionals and solve or at least manage personal problems that arise.

Employers like these services because they reduce absenteeism and help foster a happier, calmer, more effective workforce.

The trouble is, employers have to pay for the service, which is technically an employee benefit, and that can get costly.

Rogers & Gray Vice President John Foley says that’s not the case anymore. His company has joined forces with the Plymouth Area Chamber of Commerce and REACH EAP, an organization that provides employee assistance programs, to provide an affordable option for smaller businesses.

The cost per employee for is just $9.50 annually – a no-brainer for smaller businesses with limited budgets.

“John came to us a few months ago,” Plymouth Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Kevin O’Reilly said. “This is something larger companies already offer. But 90 percent of businesses here in Plymouth have fewer than 25 employees.”

The Chamber has partnered with Rogers & Gray and REACH EAP to provide this service to businesses that want it, thereby keeping the costs down.

“The counseling sessions are so employees can be more productive,” Foley explained. “It’s for families as well. Anything that affects the employee, including tips on parenting, stress reduction, how to help supervisors, provide managers with advice.”

What’s affecting a number of businesses nowadays is the heroin epidemic, as employees struggling with addiction and family members struggling with the afflicted family member lose work time trying to deal with the problem.

“A mom spending four hours a day to try to get her kid into Gosnold (rehabilitation facility) is really hamstrung,” Foley said. “REACH counselors can evaluate an employees insurance plan and meet with the employee face to face or talk over the phone.”

The consultations are 100 percent confidential, Foley added, and they are voluntary. REACH EAP also provides support to managers who may suspect an employee is struggling with addiction and give advice on how to help the employee. In this way, REACH EAP can act as an intervention, giving the addict essential information on where they can go for help and how to get it before the illness spirals out of control.

“They can’t make an employee take the counseling or advice,” Foley added. “This is simply to help them keep their job.”

Rogers & Gray has joined forces with the Chamber to create a consortium, spreading the benefit over a large pool of businesses in a number of towns, thereby keeping the cost per employee low.

If you are interested in joining this consortium and offering your employees this benefit, contact Foley at 508-258-2217, 617-909-7783. O’Reilly encouraged readers to visit plymouthchamber.com to check the time of a workshop regarding the new program, which will be held Wednesday, April 5. He stressed that this offer is for any business, whether a Chamber member or not.

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